Futsal advocate and former Bishop Connolly soccer coach spent three weeks in Brazil

Greg SullivanHerald News Staff Reporter

Bill Sampaio planned his vacation perfectly.

In his native Brazil for three weeks for the World Cup last month, Sampaio returned home to Tiverton one day before host Germany obliterated the host country 7-1 in the semifinals. So, “while I was in Brazil,” the former Bishop Connolly soccer coach said, “I never saw Brazil lose.”

Instead he watched the Germany game on television, before a gathering of friends at his house, much like he had done in 1998 when Brazil lost to France in the World Cup finals. “This time, when Germany scored the third goal, I said, ‘Okay, I need a beer.’” said the man known n local and regional soccer circles as Bill from Brazil. “They (Brazil) looked numb, like they looked numb in 1998.”

How did Sampaio react to the the six-goal margin, absurd for a major soccer match, never mind for the World Cup semifinal? Was he shocked? Dumbfounded? Angered? Devastated? Nauseated? None of the above.

The National Director of Coaches for United States Futsal (indoor soccer), Sampaio said he saw the potential for a rout. Germany was strong and prepared in every way for a strong run to the World Cup title they would capture. And Brazil, Sampaio said, simply wasn’t all that good to begin with and it had to play the semifinal without injured star Neymar and standout middle defender and captain Thigao Silva (shown 2 yellow cards in quarterfinals the previous game).

“I know this team was not as good as 2002, or as good as it was in the 1970s,” Sampaio said. “In the 70s they had five No. 10 players (top 10 players in the world). This time they only had one No. 10. Neymar. ... Germany was much better. Germany has been better for a while.”

A former professional soccer player in Brazil, Sampaio immigrated to the U.S. in 1985 in the hopes of a pro career that never materialized. He is a mechanical engineer and his duties with U.S. Futsal keep him very busy. But he still finds time to get back to Brazil occasionally. He was there last year for the Confederation Cup, sort of a preview of the World Cup.

Sampaio attended four games at World Cup 2014 – Engalnd vs. Uruguay, Brazil vs. Chile, Belgium vs. United States, Brazil vs. Colombia. During his three weeks, he watched and enjoyed the soccer on the field, but he saw much more. He left even more impressed with Germany, and not just because of its crosses, saves, and offside trap. Sampaio is an engineer, a man who sees how all the parts of a project work together.

“Germany did everything right,” he said. “Germany built their own hotel in Brazil. They did things very professionally. Their public relations was very good.”

As part of their public relations strategy, Germany wore red and black uniforms, the colors worn by Flamengo, a very popular Brazil team. Their players, Sampaio said, were on the beach talking to the people. They were dancing with the Indians.

Such PR savvy was in direct contrast to, for example, a blunder made by England heading into its game against Italy in Manaus, a hot and humid city in the Amazon. England called it playing in “the jungle”, a remark which offended many Brazilians. So while the Germans were becoming popular among the locals, England had firmly become a non-fan favorite.

Sampaio gave his native country a thumbs-up for staging the World Cup. He said he never had any doubts about staging the actual games because Brazil, a country of 200,000,000, features multiple teams from each of its 26 states and, he said, there are routinely 12 to 20 games staged every weekend with 30,000 to 40,000 fans attending.

The big issue, he said, involved making the cup experience friendly to Brazilian and foreign fans. Citizens see the Brazilian government as extremely corrupt and the country in recent years has been plagued by riots.

But for the cup, Sampaio said a very strong police presence produced a properly excited and energetic but largely non-violent atmosphere.

And logistics worked out better than many feared.

Sampaio said he took several flights to see his games and that none of his flights ran more than 20 minutes late. He helped arrange accommodations for about 50 friends from the U.S., connecting them with friends in Brazil, and “everything worked out phenomenally well. All my friends loved it.

“Brazilians are very friendly. They make you feel like you’re at home.”